Duncan and I took a day trip the other day, down to the
Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff ( a little area in south Dallas), as we were feeling the need for a bit of an escape from the humdrum. In recent years, this area has attracted several great eateries and unique shops. The streets are tree lined, and even have gardens in the alleys. The weather was beautiful, so everything felt even more wonderful. We snooped around in several of the shops---there was a pet shop,
Green Pet, filled with nice goodies for the dogs, so I was pretty happy! I found some beautiful jewelry in the
Artisan's Collective too. The pieces were so modern and unique, so I was really surprised when I heard that the person who makes them is an eighty year old man---how cool is that? For lunch, we stopped at
Tillman's Roadhouse. This restaurant is an update on the classic Texas roadhouse, and has some of the most delicious food around! After we were seated, the waiter set down a large silver ladle filled with homemade potato chips, which we polished off, and then ordered the Trio of Fries appetizer. These amazing fries consist of parmesan black pepper kennebec fries, chili dusted purple peruvian fries, and smoked salt scented sweet potato fries served with house made catsup and horseradish pickle mayo. For lunch, we opted to have the One Killer Grilled Cheese DJ which is served with soup and varies in kind from day to day. On our visit, it was Manchego cheese and grilled onions with a broccoli and cheese soup that had smoky croutons and bacon dust----incredible!!!! They make probably the best grilled cheese sandwiches you'll ever have. You can also get Venison Frito Pie, Chicken Fried Hanger Steak with poblano gravy and bacon braised green beans, Smoked Beef Brisket Quesadillas with oaxacan and chihuhua cheeses and pepitas and lime creme fraiche, to name a few of the other offerings. Of course we couldn't leave without dessert, so we had an individual s'more, which was a coffee marshmallow toasted over chocolate bark and served on a cinnamon graham cracker. What a perfect way to end the meal. We were stuffed, and completely satisfied!
After lunch, we walked around and visited a few more stores. We found one,
Make, where everything was handmade-----clothes, purses, jewelry, pillows, furniture---by local artists, and I ended up buying a pretty little headband with fabric flowers which had a bit of a modern, deconstructed look to it. Then we hopped in the car and headed back home to pick Madolyn up from school. What a fun day :)
I was looking through my Dwell magazine, when I spotted these Mary Janes in an ad for a shoe company named Keen. I was attracted by the colorful, woven tops, so decided to check out the website. I had never heard of Keen before, so was interested to find out what they were all about. I was happy to discover that not only do they make comfy, great looking shoes, but they are a company that is built on hybrid innovation, redefining the outdoors, and giving back to the community. This particular pair, the Harvest MJ, is crafted with colorful strips of woven reclaimed rice paper, while the sole is made from recycled polyurethane and cork. Now you can get some great new shoes, and reward your eco-friendly frame of mind!
We recently returned from St.Louis, MO where our 2009 Scottish Deerhound Club of America national specialty was held (which is why our blog was quiet this past week). Anyway, my daughter, Madolyn, was very happy to win Best Junior Handler for the third year in a row! Yay! We are very proud of her and her dog, Zoe, who is now ten years old and still looking beautiful.
The Tattered Cosmos sandals are adorned with tiny, metallic blossoms with fringy petals in shades of pink and gold---so pretty!
For some shoes with a heel, I love the Niabell wedges. These embroidered black raffia wedges have little black bow ties and clusters of grapes near the toe and heel. Perfect for summer!
Last, but not least, I love the Salt Water Taffy heels. These shoes feature a heel with a unique shape, and leather in several pretty shades of blue, yellow, orange, and lilac that is in varying finishes and decorated with interesting stitching patterns. They are sure to stand out in the crowd.
All of these shoes can be found at Anthropologie :)
I LOVED the quirky, vintage look of this Golden portrait, and had to have it even though I don't even own a Golden!
You know how I feel about bunnies, so of course I fell for this bunny and carrots painting.
Here's a fabulous coat designed by Linda.
A reading loft from one of the interiors they designed.
A jewelry store interior that they did.
And one of the many articles in which they were featured. This one was from Domino magazine.
After several gray, drizzly days, the sun is finally coming out at our place (Yay!), and our miniature donkey, Biko, is letting everybody know about it! At least all this rain helped produce these lovely flowers in the garden :
)
and these two bejeweled beauties are Anika Brazil. You can find all three at Anthropologie.
The Ode and Sonnet dress by Pretty Me you can also find them at www.prettymeonline.com.
The Bird in Hand dress....Pretty Me
Ernest by Nicole Bowen
Gothic Batty by Nicole Bowen
